Arsenal pie shop Piebury Corner set to be crippled by business rate hike while Gunners will see their tax bill fall
Tiny cafe just yards from Emirates Stadium will see local tax bill soar while Premier League giant will instead recieve 2.3 per cent cut
THE pie shop opposite Arsenal will be whacked with a crippling 205 per cent business rate hike while the Premier League giant will get a 2.3 per cent cut, the Sun can reveal.
The injustice will net the £344 million club a £75,000 per year saving.
But the tiny cafe just yards from the Emirates Stadium, North London will see their local tax bill soar to £430 per month under the controversial Government readjustment planned for 1 April.
Yet Premier League clubs like Liverpool, Chelsea and Man United will see their tax bills fall.
Last night Piebury Corner branded the hike “daylight robbery”
Owner Nicky Campbell, 43, raged: “My monthly payment is doubling, I should be able to give my staff a pay rise but the rates have just taken that.”
And she blasted: “This isn’t fair, go tax someone else, go tax the offshore companies”
Accounts show the pie shop’s £16,000 profits last year were dwarfed by Arsenal’s £24.7 million pre tax haul.
Yet some of the richest clubs in the Premier League will see their business rates bill slashed as part of an unpopular Government shake up.
Meanwhile smaller clubs will see their bills soar — amid concerns the costs will be passed onto fans.
Swansea City will have to stump up an extra £450,000 a year from April, in a dramatic 300 per cent rise.
Sunderland will also see a huge £400,000 hike and West Brom will have to fork out another quarter of a million every year to the taxman.
Lower league clubs like Blackpool will have to stump up an extra £67,356 per year.
Brighton and Hove Albion will have to pay £29,915 while Coventry face a £26,000 hike.
And last year’s Premier League winners Leicester will be hit with a £150,000 hike in their rates.
Mark Rigby, chief executive of rates specialists CVS, explained: “The Foxes’ rise from third tier to top tier football means the value of their stadium has also shot up and the same is true of other big climbers such as Swansea City, Southampton and Hull.”
“For the traditional big clubs, rates have been more stable or even fallen in some cases.”
Business rates take into account improvements made to premises and the surrounding areas.
The reason that big clubs like Arsenal are getting a reduction is because since the last revaluation in 2010 the value of their stadium has depreciated but property in the area has shot up in value.
Last night the Lib Dems urged Government to step in to make sure the changes do not see a further spikes in season ticket prices.
He added: “The threat to businesses is entirely a result of the Government’s continued failure to properly reform business rates to make them fit for the 21st Century”
Our revelation came as the Treasury defended their overhaul in the face of a furious backlash from business groups.
Minister David Gauke hit out at growing anger, claiming three in four businesses would not see an increase in their tax bills — but campaigners blasted the changes as “unfair” leaving “many facing arbitrary hikes.”
Pressure is mounting on Chancellor Philip Hammond to include further relief for small business in next month’s budget.
And arrogant Mr Gauke claimed the real problem was too many businesses disputing their bills and “clogging up the system”.
He said: “We have to recognise what is currently happening in the system is that there are a huge number of very speculative appeals that are going in, first encouraged by agencies on a no-win no-fee basis, chancing their arm hoping that there will be a reduction in their business rates.
But retail expert Mary Portas branded David Gauke “a muppet” as she warned that the revaluation will “cripple” high street shops in areas where house prices have increased.
Business Rates Q&A
By HARRY COLE, Westminster Correspondent
WHAT ARE BUSINESS RATES?
They are the annual tax on nonresidential properties likes shops, factories, offices and bars.
It is collected by councils who get to spend half the cash on local services, with the rest given to central Government.
HOW ARE THEY CALCULATED?
The Government’s Valuation Office Agency uses a complex formula based on rental value per square metre and location, improvements to the business as well as the state of the wider area. Last year it raised £27.8 billion.
WHY ARE THEY CHANGING?
The Government adjusts the value of the rates every five years to bring them in line with property prices.
They were last changed in 2010 and the new rate has been calculated using rental prices from 2015 and will come into force on 1 April 2017.
WHO GETS HIT?
The Government claim that 920,000 businesses will see a reduction in cost, compared to a rise 510,000 businesses. Another 420,000 businesses will see their bills stay the same.
WHY ARE BUSINESSES SO ANGRY?
Lots of smaller high street shops and and pubs say they are being unfairly hit with hikes, when out of town supermarkets and online rivals like Amazon will see their bills fall as their warehouses are in remote areas.
IS THE GOVERNMENT HELPING?
The Treasury has agreed to spend £6.7 billion over the next five years in extra rate relief for smaller firms and to enable the rates to be introduced more slowly.
WHY ARE SOME BIG FOOTBALL CLUBS GETTING A HIKE?
Size does not always matter.
Big clubs like Arsenal had a brand new stadium last time the rates were set, but have made no improvements since — however property prices around the shot up.
But clubs like Blackpool who have expanded get whacked with a big bill.
